


tepgunset

by philliebf



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Dead animals, Fluff, Folklore, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pining, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, a bit pine-y but like, all three, and like... im changing it up, and phil is a hunter/mountain man, but dw its not detailed and i there is no in detail description, dan is a veggie boi, dan is the man on the moon, he makes phil a veggie boi, idk how to tag things so like please tell me, it ends in like ch 4 anyway, just i refer to it as meat or game, like phil is a hunter, mostly on phil side, ok so brief animal violence, phil is a hunter i will clairfy, so i talk about game but never in detail really, so im excited, this is based off a canadian folk tale, we love a vegan canadian folk lore based couple, yom oym
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-06-19 22:04:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15519591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philliebf/pseuds/philliebf
Summary: loosely based off the canadian folktale "the rabbit and the moon man"phil is a hunter who has lived in the woods his whole life. he grew up learning stories about the man on the moon, one day he finds his traps are being stolen from. in an attempt to catch the thief he finds someone who is so much more than a petty thief.he finds a light to guide him and a boy to love him. his man on the moon.(tepgunset; mi'kmaq word for moon)





	1. one

The tall shadow of a man took a steady, deep and silent breath. The air was beginning to grow crisp as night fell. The tall man brushed his stark black hair out of his face, he pulled the soft belt of his parka tighter around his waist. The winter had been harsh, sparing no creature from the cold. The hunter knew he would need to retreat to his cabin shortly, as the clouds were growing, they obstructed the dim light of the moon. A blizzard was on the horizon and there was no safety outside from the fierce winds and piercing snow. 

 

With his jacket now gripping tighter around his waist, he felt even the slightest bit warmer. Phil took the opportunity to look over the traps he had set on last time before traveling the path home. Since it had been such a brutal winter food came sparingly and with not only himself, but his ailing nana, to feed the hunter was stressed. 

 

Phil was a remarkably skilled hunter. He isolated himself from the surrounding villages. Although isolated, the people would still refer to the hunter as a mountain man they nicknamed “the Rabbit”. Children were told of the raven-haired man who lived in the woods, if you came across his cabin he would catch you like game and feed you to his dogs. Phil laughed at the ghost tale he had overheard. He would let the children believe the tales as long as it meant he would be alone for the narrowing days he had with his nana. 

 

Once all the traps were completely set and the moon had disappeared behind the clouds Phil began to walk home. The air burned his lungs and snowflakes began to fall sticking to the leather of his jacket. If the blizzard was to happen, it would be quick to start. So he picked up his pace to hopefully beat the storm home. He stopped quickly at a juniper tree to collect berries and foliage for tea. Juniper, cranberry and mint tea would help keep his spirits high through the bitter storm, it would also give him the false hope he was medicating his nana properly. 

 

He arrived back at his cabin just as the snow was beginning to pick up. He could see the dim dying glow of the afternoon fire through the window. His body was tired, slightly malnourished, and craved rest. Rest that was still a distant thought, the fire needed to be revived and food needed to be cooked. 

 

Before entering his small cabin Phil retreated to his shed for food. He slung some old, dried, and nearly rotting game and a small bag of dried cranberries from the fall over his shoulder. He also grabbed a small bundle of thin logs to get the fire through the night and the next morning if they needed. He hoped the blizzard wouldn’t last more than half the night as blizzards would cause the game to be even more sparse than usual, he couldn’t afford that. Sighing in defeat of his own mind, he left his shed. 

 

Phil let the warmth of his home overtake him for a moment. The way the warm smoky air surrounded him, destroying the cold that lingered around his body. Hanging his outdoor clothes to dry by the fire he moved past his sleeping nana to the kitchen. Her body was thin and sickly. He felt she was running on borrowed time and couldn’t help but worry every time he left he would be coming back to a lonely world with no other soul to keep him company. 

“Oh Nana,” he sighed. 

 

Phil placed the food in the kitchen, bringing the kettle back to the fireplace with him. After placing new logs on the fire, it began to burn bright. He placed the kettle on the kettle hook over the fire hoping the water would boil quickly. 

 

He moved swiftly around the cabin as if it was a dance he had rehearsed for years. Stopping by his Nana’s beside, brushing the hair from her face giving her a soft kiss on the head. Phil learned so much from her. How to love the world around, make light of hardships and be kind to those close to you. He needed his Nana and she needed him. 

 

“I love you,” He whispered feeling his chest tighten.

 

Phil hated seeing her like this. It broke him bit by bit every day, but he carried on because he had to. She needed him to carry on and he would cherish every moment he had left with her.

 

“R-Rabbit,” His Nana’s voice shook, her hand reaching from beneath the blanket to hold his own. 

 

“Dinner will be ready soon, Nana. There’s a storm, you rest. It’s going to be a long night,” His voice barely reached above a whisper. 

 

He took her hand placing it back under the blanket. Phil stood slowly moving back to where he could work on the tough meat to make it at least somewhat appealing. 

 

He crushed the dried cranberries with some mint and a small bit of water from his flask in a stone bowl. Rubbing it on the meat, drowning the almost rotten smell out. Once he felt it was ready he brought it to the rack the rested on the other side of the fireplace. Resting it on top, it sizzled and began to cook. He hoped the cranberries and mint would combat the saltiness of the preserved meat. Phil sat by the fire poking and flipping the meat. The water he had put over the fire had boiled, he brought two mugs to the fire and put the remaining cranberry and mint inside. He also took the juniper he had collected and put it in the mug as well. It would make a nice enough tea to keep them from getting scurvy, but it was nothing like the summer teas. Full of berries and fruits. 

 

After the meat was finished he tore some bread from the kitchen apart and placed it on their plates alongside the meat. Phil cut the meat small enough to swallow and dipped the bread in his Nana’s tea so it would all be soft enough to swallow without much chewing involved. 

 

Phil slowly fed his Nana, as he did every night. Making sure she ate all of her food and drank all of her tea eating the leaves in the bottom. Once she was finished he cleared her plate and began to eat his own dinner. 

 

He ate ravenously as he had been working all day. The faster he ate the sooner he would be able to sleep. As he finished his bread and cleared his plate he looked out the kitchen window. The snow hadn’t turned into a blizzard, but it still fell softly leaving a fresh blanket of white for the morning. He placed a few smaller logs on the fire and began to get ready to rest.

 

Phil sat back on his bed and stared out the window at the falling snow. The fire began to die down, but it still provided the warmth he and his Nana would need for the night. He felt a sense of security with the warmth of the fire lifting the energy of the room, its soft crackles echoing through Phil’s head as the snow came to a stop. He glanced at his Nana who was sleeping soundly now.

 

A light began to shine through the window drawing his attention away from his Nana’s sleeping figure. Phil held his mug against his upper lip feeling the steam on his nose. He pushed the hair from his face with the hand not holding his mug. His eyes now looking at where the clouds had broken. The moon shone brightly through the window and Phil smiled. 

 

Phil loved the moon, he had heard countless stories about the man who lived on the moon. Phil was told the man was an ordinary boy with a pure heart and desire to help others. One day while the young man was wandering through the forest, he had gotten lost and died there after waiting many days and nights for his family to find him. Now the young man lives on the moon, using the light from his heart to guide weary travelers and lost souls home. 

 

Phil felt he knew the moon better than anyone else, and when he was a child he would talk to the man on the moon. He felt the man on the moon was always the most beautiful man he had ever laid eyes on. The Moon Man had the softest smile, and Phil swore to his Nana he had a dimple. His eyes were closed but content and you could see the goodness in the Moon Man’s heart. 

 

Phil sipped his tea, feeling it warm his lungs and stomach. Providing comfort to his body as he stared at the moon. The smell of cranberries and mint caused his eyes to grow heavy, it was a smell that comforted him. He finished his tea and spoke to the moon asking for guidance to help his weakening Nana grow strong. 

 

Once finished with his tea he felt warm. He lay his head down on his hands, resting on the side of his side. He stared in awe at the beautiful man on the moon. 

 

“Please, guide me home…” He whispered looking at the Moon Man’s eyes. 

 

Phil felt warm and content from his tea, a nice change after working in the cold all day. His eyes fluttered shut as the dim light of the moon illuminated his features. Unsure of the days to come, Phil felt almost bad for resting, but his body so desperately needed it. 

 

He had faith the moon would guide him. Protect him and his Nana. He had faith in the pure heart of the man who lived there on the moon. Phil had faith the moon would guide him to a home where he would feel content and new, as he always wished he would be. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an average day to start with an encounter to be remembered.

A chill ran down Phil’s spine, he couldn’t hide himself away from the brisk winter air no matter how many covers he layered over himself. The air would always find its way in as the fire found itself snuffed out. That was the call for Phil to wake up and begin his day, feeling only slightly more rested then when he returned the night before. 

 

He rebuilt the fire large enough to keep his Nana warm for the remainder of the day. Phil boiled a pot of water and prepared oatmeal in a bowl. Once the water was boiled he poured it over the oats eating as fast as he could. He left a second bowl of oatmeal by his Nana’s bed. He normally would stay to feed her, but the game shed was running low on meats and it made Phil nervous. They were merely halfway through the winter and survival was not an option if they didn’t have meats to keep them going. He didn’t have enough berries and grain to keep them nourished without some meat to keep them from starving. 

 

The past few days the skies had been clear. Phil preferred the overcast sky, it was hard to see with the sun reflecting off the untouched snow. Today luck was on his side as he glanced out the window to see a dim grey sky tower over the forest. He changed from yesterday’s clothes into new long johns layering warm, clean, wool clothes over top. In case the clouded sky was going to play tricks later in the day. Overcast days always had their fair share of trouble, he would have to be home before dark and he always ran the chance of getting caught in a blizzard. 

 

Putting his freshly dried winter pants and parka on he began to mentally plan a route to check his traps. It had snowed less than he thought it would, but it was still enough that he would need snowshoes. 

 

“Alright Nan, I am off. I'll be back later. Love you!” He called after finishing lacing his boots.

 

Phil grabbed his toque, mittens, and snowshoes and braved the cool outside air. He moved swiftly to the shed to grab a bag of bait to refill any traps. Picking his bow and arrow from the shed on his way out he pushed his legs through the snow into the opening of the forest. 

 

His route was never complex he followed the tracks of the deer who gravitated towards the edges of the forest as the winter drew on. It was harder this morning as the snow was lighter and fluffy so even the slightest gust of wind would blow it over any signs of life that had walked there the previous night.

 

Phil looked and saw that his first few traps were empty and untriggered. His heart began to weigh at that fact. His storage and game shed wouldn’t be able to feed both him and his nana for much longer. She was only growing more sick. It wasn’t like any of the previous winters they had braved together, they could go two or three days without a protein as they were both strong then. After the new year though, Phil’s Nana began struggling to stand for too long. Following soon after Phil’s twenty-sixth birthday, she could no longer tend to the cabin. When the first signs of spring came she was too weak to leave her bed to witness the new life the sun brought. 

 

She had always been growing old. Phil never doubted that he made her age just a bit quicker. Raising her grandson all on her own. Phil never knew his father, but his Nana swore his father loved him. His mother left them when he was barely six. With no word, she vanished like a thief in the night. 

 

_ ‘Your mother loved your father so much, she joined him in the stars,’  _ she always used to say. 

 

_ ‘Do you think the Man on the Moon helped them find each other?’ _ He would ask every time the topic was brought up. 

 

_ ‘Without a doubt, he guided them home to one another, Rabbit,’ _ She would say crouching down to hold his face in her hands. She would smile at him with saddened eyes and kiss him on the forehead.

 

Phil always knew his Nana was growing old, but she was old and lively. And now, she was quite the opposite. In the course of eight months, she went from full of life to sitting on death’s doorstep and it was only a matter of time. 

 

For now, Phil would do everything in his power to keep her as strong and as healthy as he could. That meant eating full meals every morning and night. Something that would be so simple in the spring and summer, but was nearly impossible now in the dead of winter. 

 

This winter had been particularly tricky for Phil as recently more and more the traps would come back empty but the bait would be taken. Sometimes in his less humane traps, there would even be signs that something was caught. He had his suspicions that someone was stealing from him, but he couldn’t rule out bears or birds getting to his game either.  |

 

Phil had set some bear traps earlier in the year. He never wanted to hunt a bear, he usually hunted smaller creatures like birds and rodents. If he was desperate enough a buck. Bears were different though, and he was desperate enough. A bear would fill the shed he wouldn’t need to hunt for the rest of the winter. He could provide his Nana with new coat blankets, warm leather clothing. He wouldn’t need to go to the villages for anything until spring when sheep would be up for sale after they were bred. A bear would save him from the winter. 

 

As the day drew on into dusk, Phil drew on with little to nothing. Only two squirrels were caught in all of his traps and he had nicked himself a raven while he was resting just after midday. It was resting on a branch no more than fifty meters away. As fast and as silent as he could he pulled out his bow and arrow and hit the bird straight on. It was a good catch and could be used tonight in a stew. 

 

The sky turned dark and the winds began to pick up in the mid-afternoon. By the time night began to fall a light snow had started and Phil was rounding a bush to his last trap. He heard rustling. 

 

“Ah fuck!” An unrecognizable voice yelled. 

 

Phil stopped in his tracks. He unlaced the leather tying his snowshoes to his boots as quietly as he could in case he needed to move quickly. He swiftly ducked behind a rather large oak tree so that the source of the voice wouldn’t be able to see him. 

 

He looked to see where the voice had come from. He saw someone clad in a stark white fur winter suit. It was the most beautiful snowsuit he had ever seen, not a speck of dirt on it, even on the boots. The snow blended right into it and it didn’t even look like it was falling. The person clad in such beautiful wear was bending right where his final trap would be. Judging by the voice he knew it must’ve been a boy, but with the hood of the man’s parka up, he could tell no details about him. 

 

When the man finally stood from his crouching position he turned in Phil’s direction. 

 

Phil saw him holding a large rabbit that was his game and his blood began to boil. He had found the culprit who was depriving his Nana of survival. The man stroked the rabbit three times from head to tail. 

 

The rabbit then shook its tail shaking its own blood off itself and jumped from the tall man’s hands. Phil stood in disbelief unsure if exhaustion was playing tricks on his own eyes. 

 

The man turned around again. Phil ran towards him. His legs moving as fast as they could through the snow on the ground. The cold wind from the oncoming storm burned his face as he ran down the small hill reaching for the figure clad in white.  Phil grabbed his arm harshly turning him to look at Phil. 

 

When he caught sight of the man’s face he was taken back. Soft brown curls fell onto his forehead and his parka rested beautifully on top of them almost as if not to disturb them. His eyes were brown and his lashes were long with little flakes of snow resting on them. Confusion riddled his face and Phil could see his breath coming from his perfect nose that had grown the slightest blush at the tip. Phil took in every detail he had almost forgotten why he had chased the man. He was too focused on the freckle that had a blush surrounding it or the way the man's lips were plumped and parted. He was the most beautiful creature Phil had ever seen.

 

It wasn’t until he tugged his arm out of Phil’s grip that he came back down to earth and remembered why they were in this position. 

 

“My game,” Phil stated quietly, but sternly. Almost as if it was a threat. 

 

“Excuse me?” the man retorted. 

 

“My game, you stole my game!” 

 

“It wasn’t yours for the taking,” the man turned on his heel and began to walk away. 

 

“I wish to know your name,” Phil spoke, “I feel you are indebted to me. Taking what was rightfully mine!”

 

“It wasn’t yours for the taking. Just like my name is not yours to be known. You don’t have to be an asshole you know. It’s Daniel,” He stated. 

 

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

 

Frustration grew in Phil’s stomach. Phil turned on his heel and began his journey home virtually empty-handed. The thought of that beautiful man burned and engrained into his mind. It made the walk less cold and daunting. The thought made him less fearful of the snow that blew around him and the darkness of night that came with it. It was the thought of Daniel that made Phil’s blood boil and heart race. Phil was determined to catch him, make him pay for the hardship he had brought upon his family. 

 

Phil was determined to get his keep from Daniel. In the only way he knew how; to catch him like he was a game. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phil isnt going to kill dan, the minor character death is not phil killing dan that would be a main character death and thats not happening.
> 
> you will see what that means for the rest of the story just like oof, its getting j u i c y and p i n e y after this.. this is mostly all set up ok
> 
> you can rb it at spookyweekbfs.tumblr.com/tagged/tepg ( i'll learn how to make a real link momentarily!) 
> 
> comments, kudos so so so appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> so a little intro to phil's everyday life. dan is coming dw. this story is loosely based off the folktale i will link at the bottom I am so excited for what's in store with this story. lots of foreshadowing already. 
> 
> kudos and comments so appreciated even though this is mostly description.
> 
> come n chat with me > philliebf.tumblr.com
> 
> https://www.worldoftales.com/Native_American_folktales/Native_American_Folktale_67.html


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